BREAKING NEWS Haunting new details of 'killer' dad Travis Decker's military past revealed... as residents are told to 'lock their doors and windows'
Police released a haunting new photo of triple murder suspect Travis Decker as they continue their hunt to find the ex-soldier.
Decker, 32, is accused of killing his daughters, Paityn, nine, Evelyn, eight, and Olivia Decker, five, after he failed to return them to their mother in Wenatchee following a scheduled three-hour visit.
Their bodies were found at a campsite in Leavenworth, 20 miles from their Washington state home, on Monday. Their wrists had been bound with zip ties and each of them had been suffocated with a plastic bag.
He vanished into the woods and authorities believe he is still on the loose.
The Chelan County Sheriff's Office issued a new warning today, urging locals to 'lock their doors and windows' while Decker remains at large, KIRO reports.
Police issued the warning, which includes sheds and outbuildings, to people with cabins in remote areas of Chelan, Kittitas, King, Snohomish and Okanagan Counties.
Officials have also recommended locals keep their window blinds open and outside lights on.
Decker is considered dangerous, given his extensive military training and propensity for violence.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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Daily Mail
43 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Manhunt for killer dad takes grave new turn as police reveal where they think he's hiding
The manhunt for suspected triple murderer Travis Decker has intensified as police reveal they think he's hiding in the woods along the Canadian border. Investigators are now actively searching the Pacific Crest Trail in Okanogan County, Washington for Decker - who is accused of killing his three daughters, Paityn, nine, Evelyn, eight, and Olivia Decker, five. The Chelan County Sheriff's Office executed search warrants on properties and electronic devices believed to be linked to him, which 'resulted in new leads and critical information'. Officers urged locals, specifically those in remote areas of Okanogan County, to lock all doors and windows while the 32-year-old remains at large. Decker, a former Army paratrooper, is considered dangerous, given his extensive military training and propensity for violence. He has not been seen since Friday when he picked his daughters up from their mother's home in Wenatchee, roughly 112 miles away from Okanogan County. Their bodies were found at a campsite in Leavenworth, 20 miles from their home, on Monday. Their wrists had been bound with zip ties and each of them had been suffocated with a plastic bag. Investigators, so far, have found no traces of Decker other than his abandoned truck which was found about 100 yards away from where his daughter's bodies. Okanogan County Sheriff Paul Budrow says law enforcement is patrolling the area around the clock to protect residents. Budrow urged the community - specifically those on the west side of Okanogan County - to 'remain vigilant'. 'Decker is still considered dangerous and potentially armed,' he warned, adding that if anyone spots the suspect they should 'not approach or attempt to make contact'. Decker's case has fascinated true crime obsessed amateur sleuths who are on a mission to locate the suspected killer. Social media trolls are conducting their own deep dives into Decker and have baselessly suggested that a photograph he shared to Facebook in April could be a clue to his whereabouts. Decker's online presence is borderline nonexistent, with the exception of his profile picture, some pictures of a deer skull, and his cover photo which features Bull River Campground in western Montana. 'Maybe they should check the Bull River in Montana while searching for Travis Decker,' one sleuth urged in an X post that has now been viewed more then 17,000 times. 'One of the only things posted on his FB.' The popular wildlife beauty spot is located near the Idaho-Montana border and is roughly 300 miles away from Wenatchee. There is no official evidence to suggest that he is in Montana at this time. Authorities in McCall, Idaho did receive reports of a possible Decker sighting earlier this week, but it was ultimately determined not to be him. Decker joined the US Army in 2012 and served a tour in Afghanistan two years later. But by 2017, he had been removed from the elite Ranger Regiment after he failed to complete Ranger School. By the time he joined the 173rd Airborne Brigade - which is known for conducting specialized airborne operations, including parachute jumps and air assault - he was quiet and a bit of an outcast. Decker never returned to Special Forces, and in 2021 he transferred to the Washington Army National Guard - where he rose to the rank of sergeant. He was listed as a full-time member of the Army National Guard until 2023 or 2024, when he switched to part-time. But he stopped attending mandatory monthly drills a little over a year ago, and the Guard is in the process of a disciplinary discharge. Those who were close with Decker have since said he has suffered from complex PTSD and borderline personality disorder after leaving active military service. His ex-wife Whitney says she knew her daughters were in 'substantial danger' when Decker failed to return them after his visitation on Friday. Whitney, speaking through her lawyer Arianna Cozart on Thursday, said that she begged police to issue an Amber Alert but was told the case did not meet the requirements. But she has now alleged this 'was a tragedy that could've been completely' avoided had officials intervened. She believes 'something broke inside' of Decker and that he 'would not have done what he did if he was himself', Cozart revealed. 'He clearly had some sort of break and everything that he had been living with, everything that had been bottled up inside of him for so long as far as trauma, just won out,' Cozart told the Seattle Times. 'We may never know if it could've meant the difference between life and death for those girls … but it could've made a huge difference,' Cozart told the newspaper. The father-of-three was supposed to seek mental health treatment and anger management counseling as part of a parenting plan, but there was no sign he had followed through, according to court documents. Whitney stated in September divorce proceedings that he had been 'struggling to maintain stability' since they separated and it was beginning to affect their daughters. She said that at times he would have the girls sleep at an armory while he was in the National Guard, despite her objections, according to the Seattle Times. She also said Decker - was prone to 'outbursts' and would come into her house yelling for the girls - would sometimes fail to pick up after promising to do so. In one instance, Whitney wrote that her youngest daughter, Olivia, called her crying during a visit with Decker and said she could not find her father - before Evelyn came home with welts between her legs. 'I do not want to keep Travis from the girls at all,' Whitney wrote in the court filing. 'To the contrary, I have bent over backwards to facilitate that relationship. 'But I cannot have our girls staying in what is essentially a homeless shelter, at times unsupervised, with dozens of strange men or staying in a tent or living in his truck with him, both in extreme temperatures and unknown areas for their safety.' But still Whitney reiterated to authorities how she did not believe her ex was dangerous and said he loved his daughters. She said the girls had a, 'good relationship with Decker and enjoy their time with him,' and noted that he had never failed to return the girls before, according to a police affidavit. She said when Decker went to pick up the girls Friday, he was 'quieter than usual' which was 'out of character' for him. He had also allegedly been talking about getting rid of his dog due to housing and financial struggles. On Tuesday, a judge issued a warrant for Decker's arrest and ordered he be held without bail. Authorities swarmed the Rock Island Campground on Monday evening after finding Decker's truck. Chelan County Sheriff's Office deputies found the girls' bodies about 75 to 100 yards from the truck. Police believe the girls died from asphyxiation and reported that their wrists were zip-tied, court documents state. Decker's truck had two bloody handprints on the tailgate, and inside were personal items including blankets, food, car seats and a wallet on the center console, police said. The campground also showed signs of recent activity, with a tent and a cooler located a short distance away, but Decker was nowhere to be found.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Kash Patel has live ‘WTF' moment on Joe Rogan as he learns of Trump vs. Musk mid-interview
FBI Director Kash Patel first learned that the world's richest man had just accused his boss of being in the so-called 'Epstein Files' while taping an episode of Joe Rogan's podcast on Thursday. Patel, who has come under fire from MAGA supporters in recent weeks for backing away from conspiracy theories about disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein now that he leads the FBI, appeared taken aback by Elon Musk's wild tweets about Donald Trump's lengthy past relationship with Epstein. 'That's way outside my lane,' Patel demurred while Rogan wondered 'what the f*ck' was going on between the president and his former 'first buddy.' With the bromance between the president and Musk – who funded Trump's campaign to the tune of a quarter-billion dollars and spearheaded DOGE's government-dismantling mission – blowing up in spectacular fashion on Thursday afternoon, Rogan interrupted his interview with Patel to break the news to the FBI chief. Roughly an hour into The Joe Rogan Experience taping on Thursday, Musk took issue with the president saying he was 'disappointed' about the Tesla CEO's ongoing criticisms about the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' that Republicans are trying to pass. Following Musk's exit from the administration last week as a 'special government employee,' the tech mogul had grown increasingly outspoken against the president's signature legislation, claiming it would 'bankrupt' the country. 'Time to drop the really big bomb,' Musk tweeted on Thursday afternoon. '@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' He followed up that tweet by adding: 'Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.' Moments before Musk dropped his bombshell post, Patel had spent a significant portion of his Rogan interview attempting to convince the conspiracy-peddling podcast host that Epstein did indeed commit suicide. Patel and his deputy director Dan Bongino – both of whom had previously supported the theory that Epstein was murdered in jail – have taken heavy criticismfrom right-wing influencers for now insisting that all evidence suggests Epstein killed himself. While Rogan began wondering if Patel and the FBI had footage of Epstein's island residence, the show's producer jumped in to let them both know that Musk had just flung out his allegation about Trump. 'Jesus Christ,' Rogan gasped in shock. 'I'm not participating in any of that conversation between Elon and Trump,' Patel muttered. Reading from the tweets, Rogan then said 'someone should take his phone away' and that it was 'crazy' for Musk to accuse the president of being on the supposed client list of the deceased sex offender. 'How does he know? Does he know that Donald Trump's in the Epstein files? Does he have access to the Epstein files?' Rogan then asked Patel directly. 'I don't know how he would, but I'm just staying out of the Trump-Elon thing,' the FBI director shot back. 'That's way outside my lane.' As a shocked Rogan wondered 'what the f*ck are they doing,' Patel reiterated that he know his 'lane and this ain't it.' Rogan, meanwhile, expressed concern over the amount of time that Musk spends posting to the social media platform he owns. 'I understand he owns Twitter, I think it's bad for your mental health,' the podcaster concluded. 'I think posting things publicly all day and arguing with people all day is bad for you.' Beginning in the 1980s, Epstein and Trump began hanging out in the same social circles and soon became friends, partying and dining together at their palatial estates. They posed together for photographs and were 'each other's wingmen' at one point in time. 'He's a lot of fun to be with,' Trump said about Epstein in a 2002 interview. 'It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. The pair would have a falling out in 2004. According to one Trump aide, Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after he asked a young female worker for a massage. Following Epstein's 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges, Trump said he was 'not a fan of his' while one of the president's lawyers insisted they had 'no relationship.'
Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Chilling moment mum 'knew something was wrong' before daughters found dead
The heartbroken mum of three young girls who were found dead near an abandoned camping site after a trip with their dad, Travis Decker, 32, has spoken - a manhunt was launched to find the father A mum whose three young daughters were found dead after a camping trip with their dad has revealed the chilling moment she knew "something was wrong". Sisters Paityn, 9, Evelyn, 8, and Olivia, 5, were found dead on Monday, June 2, after their dad Travis Decker, 32, failed to return them back to their mum after a trip. A manhunt was launched to find the missing dad after cops found his car with two bloody handprints, close to where the girls' bodies were located, at the Rock Island Campground, in Leavenworth, Washington. The attorney for mother Whitney Decker has spoken about the mum's heartbreak for the first time. The girls vanished during a planned visitation with their homeless dad and they were reported missing on Friday, May 30, after they had not been returned on time and their ex-soldier dad stopped answering calls. Mum Whitney has spoken for the first time through her attorney, Arianna Cozart, after the heartbreaking ordeal, revealing when she knew something had gone wrong. Talking to The Seattle Times, the mum's attorney said: "As soon as he didn't bring those girls back at 8 o'clock, she knew something was going on." The lawyer raised questions as to why local police did not issue an Amber Alert, which sends a notification to nearby phones. She said: "There should be enough concern for the police to say, 'These children are missing, they are in substantial danger, even though he didn't issue an overt threat.'" Wenatchee police had reportedly wanted to send out an Amber Alert but were told by State Patrol the case did not meet the threshold, so an Endangered Missing Persons Advisory was issued. The mum's lawyer also told the outlet the father's mental health was allegedly declining and described not returning his daughters as out-of-character behaviour. The lawyer added: "We may never know if it could've meant the difference between life and death for those girls … but it could've made a huge difference." The dad had allegedly been seeking out mental health services but was unable to, as the lawyer added: "When you have a vet who is suffering from complex PTSD and other mental health issues, they do not have the mental bandwidth" to organise appointments. Mother Whitney's lawyer added: "Whitney believes, as I do, that something broke inside of him. Travis would not have done what he did if he was himself. He clearly had some sort of break and everything that he had been living with, everything that had been bottled up inside of him for so long as far as trauma, just won out." This comes after a preliminary report into the tragic deaths said the sisters appeared to have died from asphyxiation, and the dad is believed to have strangled his girls to death. Authorities searching for the former Army solider said he is wanted for three counts of first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. Police have also warned the public"do not approach" the ex-solider with "extensive training" if he is seen - instead urging the public to call 911.
